128 - Data Products for Dummies and The Importance of Data Product Management with Vishal Singh of Starburst

Today I’m joined by Vishal Singh, Head of Data Products at Starburst and co-author of the newly published e-book, Data Products for Dummies. Throughout our conversation, Vishal explains how the variations in definitions for a data product actually led to the creation of the e-book, and we discuss the differences between our two definitions. Vishal gives a detailed description of how he believes Data Product Managers should be conducting their discovery and gathering feedback from end users, and how his team evaluates whether their data products are truly successful and user-friendly.   Highlights/ Skip to: I introduce Vishal, the Head of Data Products at Starburst and contributor of the e-book Data Products for Dummies (00:37) Vishal describes how his customers at Starburst all had a common problem, but differing definitions of a data product, which led to the creation of his e-book (01:15) Vishal shares his one-sentence definition of a data product (02:50) How Vishal’s definition of a data product differs from mine, and we both expand on the possibilities between the two (05:33) The tactics Vishal uses to useful feedback to ensure the data products he develops are valuable for end users (07:48) Why Vishal finds it difficult to get one on one feedback from users during the iteration phase of data product development (11:07) The danger of sunk cost bias in the iteration phase of data product development (13:10) Vishal describes how he views the role of a DPM when it comes to doing effective initial discovery (15:27) How Vishal structures his teams and their interactions with each other and their end users (21:34) Vishal’s thoughts on how design affects both data scientists and end users (24:16) How DPMs at Starburst evaluate if the data product design is user-friendly (28:45) Vishal’s views on where Designers are valuable in the data product development process (35:00) Vishal and I discuss the importance of ensuring your products truly solve your user’s problems (44:44) Where you can learn more about Vishal’s upcoming events and the e-book, Data Products for Dummies (49:48) Links Starburst: https://www.starburst.io/ Data Products for Dummies: https://www.starburst.io/info/data-products-for-dummies/ “How to Measure the Impact of Data Products with Doug Hubbard”: https://designingforanalytics.com/resources/episodes/080-how-to-measure-the-impact-of-data-productsand-anything-else-with-forecasting-and-measurement-expert-doug-hubbard/ Trino Summit: https://www.starburst.io/info/trinosummit2023/ Galaxy Platform: https://www.starburst.io/platform/starburst-galaxy/ Datanova Summit: https://www.starburst.io/datanova/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/singhsvishal/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vishal_singh

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Are you an enterprise data or product leader seeking to increase the user adoption and business value of your ML/AI and analytical data products? While it is easier than ever to create ML and analytics from a technology perspective, do you find that getting users to use, buyers to buy, and stakeholders to make informed decisions with data remains challenging? If you lead an enterprise data team, have you heard that a ”data product” approach can help—but you’re not sure what that means, or whether software product management and UX design principles can really change consumption of ML and analytics? My name is Brian T. O’Neill, and on Experiencing Data—one of the top 2% of podcasts in the world—I offer you a consulting product designer’s perspective on why simply creating ML models and analytics dashboards aren’t sufficient to routinely produce outcomes for your users, customers, and stakeholders. My goal is to help you design more useful, usable, and delightful data products by better understanding your users, customers, and business sponsor’s needs. After all, you can’t produce business value with data if the humans in the loop can’t or won’t use your solutions. Every 2 weeks, I release solo episodes and interviews with chief data officers, data product management leaders, and top UX design and research professionals working at the intersection of ML/AI, analytics, design and product—and now, I’m inviting you to join the #ExperiencingData listenership. Transcripts, 1-page summaries and quotes available at: https://designingforanalytics.com/ed ABOUT THE HOST Brian T. O’Neill is the Founder and Principal of Designing for Analytics, an independent consultancy helping technology leaders turn their data into valuable data products. He is also the founder of The Data Product Leadership Community. For over 25 years, he has worked with companies including DellEMC, Tripadvisor, Fidelity, NetApp, Roche, Abbvie, and several SAAS startups. He has spoken internationally, giving talks at O’Reilly Strata, Enterprise Data World, the International Institute for Analytics Symposium, Predictive Analytics World, and Boston College. Brian also hosts the highly-rated podcast Experiencing Data, advises students in MIT’s Sandbox Innovation Fund and has been published by O’Reilly Media. He is also a professional percussionist who has backed up artists like The Who and Donna Summer, and he’s graced the stages of Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. Subscribe to Brian’s Insights mailing list at https://designingforanalytics.com/list.